1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image output apparatus, an image output method and a program-stored computer readable storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been a case where output from a computer is performed depending on its region/language setting, namely, locale setting. A user sets a region and a language (locale setting), so that, for example, dates, time, currency symbols ($, ¥, £, and the like) and a notational system for numerical values (for example, where to put “,”) are outputted to be displayed in accordance with the language of the region and a preset format automatically.
The locale setting is also used for description in a document file. (Document files are general files including text data, hereinafter.) Output can be performed on the basis of the locale setting with respect to various types of application software (spreadsheet software) used for various calculation analyses, data aggregation, database creation and the like for statistical analyses of numerical value data, the application software using spreadsheets respectively including a plurality of cells.
In recent years, an attempt has been made to standardize output formats of the spreadsheet software. Using a standard output format provides document file compatibility between different computers or different types of software, and also makes it easy to develop related software. OOXML (Office Open XML) used for Excel (Microsoft® Excel®) is one of the standard output formats. If an OOXML file including locale dependent characters is moved to and displayed in another region/language environment, the locale dependent characters are outputted to be displayed in a format in accordance with that region/language environment.
Similarly, a locale setting is set in an image forming apparatus so that menu indications and error indications related to operations thereof are displayed. There is a case where an image forming apparatus is used for handling inputs from an unspecified number of computers or the like. If a user who uses a computer having a certain country's language environment attempts to perform output by an image forming apparatus having another country's language environment, a problem arises that error indications cannot be read if errors occur. Then, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-321190, there is disclosed a technology to read a language environment of a received print job, and display error indications in the language.
However, in the case where a document file is outputted as described above, it is not always true that automatic format change thereof based on the locale setting be preferable. If a document file created by a user with no intention to output the document file in a different locale setting environment includes description which depends on the locale setting, and the document file is moved to the different locale setting environment, a display format (output format) of the document file automatically changes on the basis of the locale setting of the environment. As a result, a problem arises that the format of the document file outputted is broken or the document file is displayed differently from what a user has expected. That is, conventional image output apparatuses, which output images of the contents of document files, have a problem that output is performed in accordance with a user's unintentional locale setting.